Sort of. It's not as big of a split as it is in GSDs, but IMO there is one. Lots of common misconceptions out there about each type though, and in Dobermans there is SO much more to it than appearance and event focus.

A friend of mine has dobes and told me there are South American lines, German lines, and American lines, and that the American bred dogs are bred for companionship, and that the German and South American lines are bred for protection work. Is that accurate?

After reading around a bit it appears that there are two main lines: European and American. European seems to be mostly GErman, but other countries might have a bit different ways with their Dobermans. American dobermans are bred as companions while the European dog is more of a work dog or guard dog.

A friend of mine has dobes and told me there are South American lines, German lines, and American lines, and that the American bred dogs are bred for companionship, and that the German and South American lines are bred for protection work. Is that accurate?

American conformation-bred Dobermans can and do participate in protection sports. There are several IPO 1, 2, and 3 Dobermans from American show breeders with no sport dogs in their pedigrees. American conformation-bred Dobermans also excel (and are the norm) in obedience, agility, lure coursing, and tracking... at least in this country. They are great companions in the right type of home... but we do take offense when they are compared to "traditional companion breeds" such as labs and goldens. They are still intense, alert, watchful, protective dogs. Incidentally, the NA conformation-bred dogs tend to have the most health testing... which is VERY important in this famously unhealthy breed.

Sport-bred Dobermans are no larger, stronger, or bulkier than American conformation-bred Dobermans. In fact, most of the examples I've seen have been smaller. The American sport breeders do have their foundations in dogs from overseas, but have done very well with breeding and trialing dogs on American soil. The UDC (United Doberman Club) is probably your best resource for finding these types of breeders. These breeders also tend to do a decent amount of health testing. If I was in the market for an IPO Doberman, I can think of several American sport breeders I would approach... as well as a few American conformation breeders who have a decent track record of producing dogs that excel in IPO.

Keep in mind that Europe does not send us their best... just like other countries (such as the Philippines and Japan) don't get the best American conformation-bred Dobermans. Unless you're a person of note, importing a dog from Europe is not something I would recommend. You would most likely get one of their castoffs. When you see European conformation-bred dogs in this country, most of them seem to be from breeders that use "Euro" as a gimmick. Not something to be proud of, and certainly not a breeder I would ever choose to support. (Most of these breeders seem to import one or two European castoff sires, then breed them to BYB bitches... and charge gobs of money for the resulting puppies. Yuck.)

South American Dobermans originated with American stock. They do tend to be very flashy, but they don't seem to do as much health testing down there. Pedigree forgery is also a concern, or so I've been told. Certain health issues have been attributed to the SA dogs (mainly liver issues) and some claim the SA dogs have an inappropriate level of dog aggression.

I find that most people who say American conformation-bred Dobermans are "wussy pets" have never met a responsibly-bred example. They base their opinion on biased online articles, as well as BYB Dobermans they meet. There are conformation breeders that do tend to breed softer dogs, but American breeders on the whole still breed fairly tough dogs.

I find that most South American lines are way more extreme in their angles. As for aggression I find it depends on the dog. There was one, when I was showing jazz if another dog came near her, like within 5 feet she would try to tear its face off. She is from North American lines.

Now there is a male being specials right now who is very South American. Akido San lines. He is a bit less extreme than most but he is also the biggest lover there is